Well, after bashing the Switch for better part of 2017, I ended up asking for one for Christmas. Why you ask? Well, a couple reasons.

1. I follow a lot of content creators on YouTube. The majority of them have been super critical of the Switch (much like myself) since the first preview trailer was released. Over the last year, however, I have watched their reviews and input of the Switch and its games, and have seen a massive shift in their opinions. It seems that the Switch has slowly won them over for various reasons. Portability, the "indy scene", the fun nature of the games, etc. With that, my opinion began to change. If I could see my favorite content creators change their opinion, I guess I started having a little bit more of an open mind.

2. PS4 and Xbone have ZERO interest for me. I have seen a ton a AAA titles come and go on these things over the years. Like "hey, this game looks rad, maybe I will get a PS4 so I can play it," only to find out the game was a huge POS. The always online requirements for so many games, loot crate nonsense, micro transactions, giant games that come out unfinished and buggy, or games that get hyped and then canceled for no reason really just turned me off. I am fine with my PS3 and its library. Honestly I could give a crap about the "next gen" craze these days.

3. The ports. The too latest ones, Doom and LA Noire kind of sold me. I never played either, and I REAAAALLLLLYYYY wanted to play DOOM. So I picked up both. I have no bearing on comparison between PS$/Xbone and the Switch version of DOOM, but man, It looks and plays great on the Switch. I remember how bummed out I was with DOOM 3 so I was cautious with this one, and it sure didnt disappoint. I havent touched LA Noire yet, from what I hear its pretty solid on the Switch. I have Skyrim for the PS3 so no need to buy that again.

4. The "indy scene." With the reason of #2 on my list, I have been kind of going back to my roots lately. I have been obsessed with retro games. Lots of Sega, lots of NES stuff. Then I started getting in the indy retro style games, and a lot of kickstarter stuff. I really dont like digital downloads, so I was really excited to see some of the indy games I wanted to play getting physical releases on the switch. Tiny Barbarian, Cave Story, Retro City Rampage, Axiom Verge, Ittle Dew 2, to name a few. I have also downloaded Sonic Mania and an indy title called Morphite which I am really enjoying.

5. 2018 releases. So far I have pre-ordered physical copies of Wolfenstein 2, Wonder Boy, Bayonetta 1-3 (never played these before), Metroid Prime 4 and Rocket League: Collector's Edition. I am also looking forward to the release of both Mega Man collections on the Switch as well as the Anniversary Edition Street Fighter. With the massive success of the Switch thus far, I am excited to see what else gets released for this thing.

So, long story s hort, I am eating crow here. I talked a lot of trash and then became a super fan. Its a simple console/handheld that does everything its supposed to do. I am really enjoying it thus far.

Rookie1 wrote:only to find out the game was a huge POS. The always online requirements for so many games, loot crate nonsense, micro transactions, giant games that come out unfinished and buggy, or games that get hyped and then canceled for no reason really just turned me off

I don’t agree with all your points, but you raise an interesting argument in point 2. After the Battlefront 2 fiasco could the Switch become the people’s champion and return gaming to its natural position ? By natural position I mean local co-op, buying a game and getting the full experience - possibly ?

Congrats on your new Switch! Let us know as you play and acquire new games how it goes! I am with you on the ports. After all, we're retro gamers, so there's no stigma in playing a game only a few years old when we trade off with playing games decades old.

Sut wrote: could the Switch become the people’s champion and return gaming to its natural position ? By natural position I mean local co-op, buying a game and getting the full experience - possibly ?

For Nintendo, this makes sense. Its basically the handheld experience, and many of their consoles have excelled in local co-op even when couch co-op was a competitive arena and not online co-op. Nintendo is always being criticized for the paucity of its online ecosystem, so why not again play to your strength.

Over the holidays, when you go to parties, setting up a video game system for couch co-op is a popular event. Online is never going to replace that, but those are a few events a year and not everyday gaming. I hope the Switch can still be profitable under the older paradigm. Ports seem to be one excellent way to do that.

Your story echoes mine. Feeling burned by the Wii U, I saw Switch as following that same trajectory, but with less games (outside of BotW, there wasn’t much in that immediate window that grabbed me).

And then the successes started mounting.....

Porting PS3/360 games to Switch feels different than it did on Wii U. There’s actually a good reason for it, this time! Full console experiences no longer being dumbed down for the handheld arena. I’m 25 hours into Skyrim, and it’s amazing how well the game translates into a portable experience. I’ll be playing Doom next.

Being completely untethered is even cooler than it sounds! I still love my PS4, but Switch seems like the real technical Marvel because of its flexibility.

I got my Switch as a "treat" to myself and I really wanted to play Mario. I haven't been disappointed. I am currently hooked on Zelda and what a game it is. Mario and Zelda are all you need. 2018 looks a bit bleak as Triple A titles go for the Switch (IMHO) but it is a fun system. Me and the family are really enjoying it. Honestly, if I had to do it all over again I would have never even bothered with the Xbox One and just stuck with the PS4/Switch combo. Let us know how you like it!

newmodelarmy wrote:I got my Switch as a "treat" to myself and I really wanted to play Mario. I haven't been disappointed. I am currently hooked on Zelda and what a game it is. Mario and Zelda are all you need. 2018 looks a bit bleak as Triple A titles go for the Switch (IMHO) but it is a fun system. Me and the family are really enjoying it. Honestly, if I had to do it all over again I would have never even bothered with the Xbox One and just stuck with the PS4/Switch combo. Let us know how you like it!

I don’t really agree with that. If anything, I think that 2018 could be a very important transitional year for Nintendo. Just as 1996 was the year when third parties stopped prioritizing Nintendo, I believe this could be the year that they come back. First party releases are great and all, but part of what made the NES, SNES, and DS great were the wide variety of outstanding third party releases, and the games actually sold! Without that major first party release schedule, I believe that it will entice those who own a Switch to take notice of releases that would typically be overshadowed.

newmodelarmy wrote:I got my Switch as a "treat" to myself and I really wanted to play Mario. I haven't been disappointed. I am currently hooked on Zelda and what a game it is. Mario and Zelda are all you need. 2018 looks a bit bleak as Triple A titles go for the Switch (IMHO) but it is a fun system. Me and the family are really enjoying it. Honestly, if I had to do it all over again I would have never even bothered with the Xbox One and just stuck with the PS4/Switch combo. Let us know how you like it!

I don’t really agree with that. If anything, I think that 2018 could be a very important transitional year for Nintendo. Just as 1996 was the year when third parties stopped prioritizing Nintendo, I believe this could be the year that they come back. First party releases are great and all, but part of what made the NES, SNES, and DS great were the wide variety of outstanding third party releases, and the games actually sold! Without that major first party release schedule, I believe that it will entice those who own a Switch to take notice of releases that would typically be overshadowed.

I hear what you are saying, but there is practically nothing on the horizon from a 3rd party perspective. I mean there are plenty of games coming to the Switch but most of those are low budget indie games or eShop games you can typically find on other systems. I for one would be willing to by a third party game of quality on the Switch versus the other systems I own but as far as I can tell that move has not happened. I would bet that in 2018 Nintendo sells less Switch consoles then in 2017. They got a HUGE bump from Mario and Zelda and there is nothing like either of them coming anytime soon.

Yeah, I do agree with you that there is nothing that has been announced that can top the 1-2 punch of Mario and Zelda....yet. Really, all they would have to do is announce Pokémon, Smash Bros, or Animal Crossing to change that.

As far as third parties, I think that 2018 looks much more promising. Mega Man 11, the 2 Legacy Collections, the Street Fighter Collection, Bayonetta 1+2, Bayonetta 3, Wolfenstein II, Dragon Quest Builders, Octopath Traveller, and all that hasn’t been announced yet.

Nintendo has an opportunity to promote many of their B franchises to A franchises. There is potential for Punch Out, Starfox (if done correctly), Pikmin. Nintendo could announce a new Mario Maker that could be a huge hit. 2018 is, if anything, going to be a very interesting/defining year.

BanjoPickles wrote:Nintendo has an opportunity to promote many of their B franchises to A franchises. There is potential for Punch Out, Starfox (if done correctly), Pikmin. Nintendo could announce a new Mario Maker that could be a huge hit. 2018 is, if anything, going to be a very interesting/defining year.

I almost just want them to leave Star Fox alone at this point. I can’t understand why they can’t just make a new one like Star Fox 64 instead of trying to shove it into a different genre or throwing in terrible gimmicks. Each new Star Fox since 64 has just watered down the franchise more with terrible games, kind of like Sonic. At this point we have had 2 good Star Fox games (one that has aged pretty harshly), a few mediocre ones, and a couple awful ones. Let’s just leave it alone and not make us forget what we ever liked about the franchise in the first place.

It also seems like we kind of reached the limit with Punch Out. The Wii one was great but if the only idea they had for that was a remake of the original then the franchise is probably out of steam. I love it but I just don’t see a new one doing anything different

I would love a new Pikmin though. And I’d kill for another Mario Maker.

There’s no chance it will happen but I would really like a new F Zero. It’s a shame the GameCube one didn’t sell. A new Wave Race would do nicely too. And I can’t see it happening but a new Pilot Wings where they really used all the graphical power of the Switch to make amazing, realistic landscapes would be incredible. I’d love to see a hyper realistic game that wasn’t another violent shooter.

And since the system is a hybrid they could make some smaller 2d games as well. Wouldn’t a new 2d Kid Icarus be cool? And in the vein of Puyo Puyo Tetris Nintendo could mash together some of their puzzle franchises, like Dr Mario mixed with the long forgotten Yoshi and Yoshi’s Cookie. Or just Dr Mario Tetris. Haha.

I’d also like to see them revisit Mario Tennis and actually put some effort into it again.

If you haven't tried Mario Kart 8 yet I'd highly recommend it. I played the heck out of it on the Wii U and can definitely recommend it. The last game in the Mario Kart series I played was Mario Kart 64 so I'm not a huge fan by any means. It's still a good, fun game.

Personally, I love playing Mario Odyssey on it and can certainly agree with newmodelarmy that Zelda and Mario are good enough. I may end up picking Zelda again to try out the new DLC for it. As for the future there's not a lot I'm looking forward to either.

Has anyone tried Arms? Is it worth it? Novelty factor? The other game that I enjoyed on the Wii U that might be good for the Switch is Splatoon 2. From what I've read it's more of an expansion to the original than a true sequel. Has anyone tried that?